1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to oil recovery apparatus, such as that used in collecting oil resulting from oil spills in harbors or other bodies of water, and to a method for recovering such oil.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, there are various oil recovery devices, often called "skimmers", which remote oil from a water surface. A good number of these devices utilize an oleophillic material, usually in the form of a continuously traveling belt, to pick up oil from the water surface and carry it to a removal location where scrapers or rollers are used to remove oil from the belt.
Other devices depend upon the tendency of oil to float to the surface of a body of water to accomplish separation of oil from the body of water. In such devices, the oil polluted surface layer, generally a mixture of water and oil, is directed into some type of reservoir where the liquid is relatively undisturbed to permit the oil to separate by floatation. In some instances the oil/water liquid is "skimmed" from the surface portion of the body of liquid. In other instances, the oil/water surface liquid is directed on a downwardly slanting path to a reservoir, after which the oil separates by floatation.
While such devices have the capability of removing a certain percentage of oil from a water surface, there is still a continuing need for more effective collection and separation of oil from an oil polluted body of water. This is particularly true in view of the fact that quite often the recovery of oil must be accomplished under less than ideal weather conditions, where there is a certain amount of wave action which tends to complicate the separation of the oil from the water.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for collection of oil from a body of water, where the efficiency of operation is relatively high, and where there is a capability of effective operation under varying conditions of operation.